Jam Today: Easy Apricot Jam

“The rule is, jam to-morrow and jam yesterday – but never jam today.”

      

 – The White Queen, from Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll

Often when I think of making jam, and I don’t suppose I’m alone in this, I think of “putting up” preserved batches that will sit on the shelf through the next year or so, ready to use at a moment’s notice. This little recipe is not about making that kind of jam. It’s simpler and more flexible, more of a method than a recipe for a product that’s meant to be eaten right away. And it’s quite easy.

I borrowed this method from Heart of the Artichoke and other Kitchen Journeys by David Tanis, where the author lists “Making a Little Jam” as one of his “Kitchen Rituals.” I’ve done stuff like this before myself, but was always a little timid, not really sure I was making something legitimate. (I know, get over it, right?) And so, I love having the little seasonal adventure of cooking fresh, ripe fruits with sugar and making jam validated as a worthy ritual.

Tanis used apricots for the published version of his jam recipe (and also recommends blackberries, figs, and Italian plums), and I had good luck with canned apricot jam (from this book), so that’s what I made to talk about here. If you can get great fresh apricots, they really are good candidates for your first batch of jam. They’re fairly easy to deal with, and they break down to a satisfying consistency when cooked with sugar. 

And you’ll need plenty of sugar. Don’t be shy with or afraid of the sugar when making jam. Not only is it needed to make slightly (or sometimes very) tart fruits into sweet, flavorful spreads, but that cooked sugar helps create the, well, jammy consistency of a good jam. That being said, since you’re not canning this jam and don’t need the sugar to behave as a preservative, you could adjust the amount of sugar to your own taste.

This batch of jam is small, resulting in about 2 cups of jam. It’s perfect for when you have as little as 2 cups of great fruit, rather than a mountain of it. It takes less than an hour to make, and is ready to eat as soon as it cools. It lasts for at least a couple weeks in the refrigerator, but if you like jam, you may go through it more quickly than that. As Tanis says in his book, “I am not making it for posterity, I am making it for breakfast.”

I’ve made similar jam with rhubarb, strawberries and rhubarb, and, most recently Bing cherries with the few apricots I had left after making the apricot jam. All have been delicious and beautiful in color. I love the bright orange of the apricot, dark pink of the rhubarb, and dark garnet red of the Bing cherry. Of course, I love their bright, perky, fruity flavors even more.

While I do like making preserved jams, I love the instant gratification of this little batch of jam. Besides, it helps fulfill Alice’s statement that, “It must come sometimes to ‘jam to-day.’”

 

Easy Apricot Jam

Based on a recipe in Heart of the Artichoke and other Kitchen Journeys by David Tanis

Other fruits can be used with this same method, such as plums, strawberries, rhubarb and sweet or sour cherries. (Sweet cherries tend to keep their cherry shape more than the other fruits.) In most cases, I like to stick with the formula of equal parts fruit and sugar by volume. You can adjust to taste.

Testing for the proper consistency of jam may take some practice. If you find the jam too runny when it cools, simply put it back on the stove to cook some more. If it is overcooked, you can add some water and heat it a little to incorporate that water. If you burn the jam, there’s nothing that can save it. Remember, too, that there will be some inconsistency with this process depending on the ripeness and water content of your fruit.

2 cups pitted and coarsely chopped apricots

2 cups granulated sugar

Up to ½ cup water (optional)

1. Combine the apricots and sugar in a saucepan large enough to accommodate some vigorous boiling. Stir together to coat the fruit well in sugar. Add up to ½ cup of water if desired. This will help keep the sugar from scorching if it takes some time for the fruit to release its juices.

2. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Adjust the heat to maintain a vigorous simmer, but be sure to avoid having the mixture boil over.

3. Meanwhile, place a couple of small plates in the freezer. You will use these to help test whether the jam is done cooking.

4. Continue simmering for 20-30 minutes. At any point (I usually start after about 15 minutes of cooking) take one of the plates out of the freezer. Place a small dab of the jam on the plate and let it stand for several seconds. Tip or swirl the plate around. If the jam flows freely and looks runny, it needs to be cooked longer. If the jam forms a gel, or meets your preferences for jam consistency, you can stop cooking.

5. Cool the jam and spoon it into bowls or jars. Keep refrigerated.

Makes about 2 cups of jam.

Another recipe like this one:Strawberry Rhubarb Freezer Jam

If you would like a recipe for a canned apricot jam, I highly recommend the recipe in The Complete Book of Small Batch Preserving by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard. There’s lots of other good stuff in this book, too!

Apricot and Raspberry Crumble Tart

Desserts take on a new and wonderful character in the late summer when the orchards, fields and markets are full of fresh, voluptuous fruits. You’ll hear people who answer the question, “What’s your favorite dessert?” with, “Oh, I just love a really nice, fresh piece of fruit.” Those people drive me crazy!

A nice fresh piece of fruit all on its own is more like a salad to me. To take something like this lovely bunch of apricots I recently got my hands on and make them dessert, I believe they should be applied in the tart/crisp hybrid, a sort of crumble-topped tart, from Seasonal Fruit Desserts by Deborah Madison.

It was tempting to keep these plump, smooth, soft apricots around just for touching (I don’t get many visitors). This tart, however, with its almond-loaded crust, some of which is mixed a little differently and crumbled on top of the fruit mixture, proved even more tantalizing. The crust is easy to whip together with a food processor and presses easily into a tart pan. After that, apricots and raspberries, sweetened just a bit, are piled in and then topped with the crumb mixture.

As beautiful as all this sounds, I was skeptical most of the way through the process. Fresh apricots, even when ripe and flavorful, can also be quite sour, and these were no exception. Surely the ¼ cup of brown sugar in the filling wasn’t going to be enough. Surely this great pile of fruit was going to boil over or turn into a sloppy juice that leaked everywhere and turned the crust to mush. And then, as I peeked in at the baking tart, I was convinced that the apricots weren’t going to soften or release any juices at all.

Happily, I was wrong about all of that stuff. Each bite was all about the flavors of the fruit and almonds without any tooth-aching sweetness (which I wasn’t worried about) or wincing sourness (which I kind of was). There was just the right amount of thickened juices to hold the fruit together and allow the tart to be served as slices, rather than bowlfuls as a crisp or cobbler would be (although there’s still plenty of room for an accompanying scoop of vanilla ice cream). This tart/crisp hybrid, all in all, is just right.

I would love to try this with other fruits, such as peaches or plums, since fresh apricots are harder to find. I’m afraid, however, that these juicier fruits might make the too-wet tart I was afraid of. With the apricots and raspberries, this tart is as close to perfect as I’ve experienced in a long time, if ever. Really. It’s that good. Perfectly baked apricots, slumped, juicy raspberries and a crisp, almond-infused crust and topping. That sentence doesn’t need a verb, unless it’s “drool.” And if you think dessert is a nice piece of fruit, just try passing on a serving of this real dessert.

Apricot and Raspberry Tart with Crumble Topping
Adapted from Seasonal Fruit Desserts by Deborah Madison

for the crust and topping:
½ cup almonds
1/3 cup light brown sugar
¼ teaspoon fine salt, divided
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 stick (8 tablespoons) cold butter, cut into chunks
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
1 egg yolk

for the filling:
4 cups fresh apricots, cut into quarters
1 cup raspberries
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
¼ cup light brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. To make the crust and topping, place the almonds, 1/3 cup brown sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a food processor. Process until the almonds are very finely ground. Remove ½ cup of the almond mixture and place it in a medium-size bowl. Set the bowl aside.

2. Add the 1 cup all-purpose flour and the whole wheat pastry flour to the mixture in the food processor. Pulse to combine. Add the butter and process until the mixture forms coarse crumbs.

3. In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the water, vanilla and almond extracts and egg yolk. Whisk or stir together with a fork to combine. Turn on the food processor and gradually add this liquid mixture to the dough with the machine running. Continue processing until the dough comes together into a moist but crumbly ball.

4. Remove ½ cup of the dough and add it to the bowl of reserved almond mixture you removed earlier. Combine the mixtures with a fork or your hands to make coarse crumbs. This will be the crumb topping mixture. Set aside.

5. Press the remaining tart dough into a 9-inch tart pan (I used one with a removable bottom). Use your hands and press the dough as evenly on the bottom and up the sides of the pan as you can. If the dough is too soft to do this easily, refrigerate it for a while until it is firm.

6. In a large bowl combine the apricots, raspberries, 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour and ¼ cup brown sugar. Stir gently to coat the fruit.

7. Pour or spoon the mixture into the crust in the tart pan. Arrange the fruit if necessary to make it fit snugly in the pan. It will make a mound, but it should stay together. Sprinkle the topping mixture evenly over the fruit.

8. Place the tart pan on a sheet pan (this will make it easier to handle and catch any drips) and place it in the oven. Bake for about 30 minutes. Check the tart and if the topping is already well-browned, cover loosely with foil. Continue baking about 15 minutes more. The crust and topping should be nicely browned and the fruit will have released some juices. Cool before serving. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream if desired.

Makes 6-8 servings. The tart is best served soon after cooling when the crust and topping are crisp. You can cover and refrigerate leftovers, however, to serve later if you don’t mind a still delicious if slightly soggy crust.

Other recipes like this one: Cherry Plum Crisp, Plum Upside Down Yogurt Cake

One year ago: Plum Upside Down Yogurt Cake

Two years ago: Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes, Basil and Olives